After numerous failed attempts, the cult Jamaican thriller The Harder They Come may at last be set for a remake. Producer-actor Trudie Styler has joined forces with, among others, Justine Henzell – daughter of the original's director Perry Henzell (who died in 2006) – who now owns the rights.

The first Harder They Come, made in 1972, starred Jimmy Cliff as a naive country boy who turns up in the Jamaican capital Kingston hoping to make it big as a musician. It is generally credited with popularising reggae in Europe and the US, and boasted a bestselling soundtrack including contributions from Toots and the Maytals, Desmond Dekker and Cliff himself, who recorded the title track for the film.

Styler, who successfully graduated from acting to producing, with credits including Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Moon, told Screen Daily: "We want to keep what made the original so special – its freshness, humour, anger at social injustice, and love of Jamaican music and culture – but updated to reflect the Jamaican experience in 2011."

The original Harder They Come was part-funded by Chris Blackwell and Island Records as a means of promoting reggae outside Jamaica. It was turned into a musical in 2006, shortly before Perry Henzell's death.